Suddenly, she ran up to the microphone, standing on the tips of her toes with her arms secured behind her, she shouted into it, “Please, I have a family, I am looking—” before she could finish, the auctioneer grabbed the microphone away from the woman. Quickly flashing his teeth, he snarled at her. She backed down but did not avert her eyes. Aelnoth was impressed by the fire in her spirit. He knew her from somewhere. Impossible, he thought. But why was he so drawn to her, unable to take his eyes off her?
The auctioneer turned back to the woman, and sneered, “My dear, you weren’t worried about your family at all or you would not have trespassed into Undervale. You are now at our mercy. Hopefully, your fire will be worth your price to whoever is lucky enough to break you.” Aelnoth could tell that being treated like merchandise angered the woman, it would have angered him as well. On her the anger was intriguing.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are ready to begin, and by the look of it this batch is excitable,” the auctioneer shouted, putting his canines away, and showing the crowd a sparkling smile. He was a shifter Aelnoth did not recognize, but he was a showman.
“Ahhh, I see the newly honored Lord Ashlu is among us today,” the auctioneer said reaching out into the audience as all eyes turned toward Aelnoth. “Please my lord, would you come up and inspect the merchandise. I am sure the approval of a lord such as yourself would help the people decide.”
“No, no, I’m not here to work, but to merely enjoy the fine day,” he tried to beg off. Nodding in the direction of the auctioneer.
“Nonsense, it would be no work at all,” Lady Alard spoke up. “I am sure Lord Ashlu is just being shy. His lordship would love to be of service.”
“Does the lady speak the truth, my lord, whadya say?” the auctioneer was not going to take no for an answer.
“Shyness has never been a trait of my pack. So, I can hardly let down a lady of Undervale, can I,” he answered loudly flashing the crowd his winning smile and shooting Lady Alard a look of quiet irritation. She smiled slyly in return, leaving Aelnoth to wonder if she was really part wolf or more Cheshire cat. Walking up to the block he was determined to get this inspection over as quickly as possible.
Chapter 7
She was angry, how dare that shifter accuse her of not caring about her family? Her family was the only reason she was in this godforsaken place. He had no right. The longer she was in Undervale the more unsure she became about wanting to find Jason’s father at all. She didn’t want to introduce her precious baby boy to these… these monsters. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes. She adjusted her wrists in the handcuffs behind her back to better feel her fingers, she was in pain both physically and mentally, but would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her tears. It’s not about me, she thought, trying to regain her composure. Jason needs medical care, he needs to know what he is. I can make it through this.
Lifting her head she took in the scenery around her. The crowd was ample but not the largest she had seen. They seemed entertained by the auction, but not out for blood. Any fear of immediate violence quickly faded from her growing list of worries. Of course, who knew how humans were treated once they were in the shifter’s homes. Also, there was the problem of being chosen as a breeder. She would push that down for now. She had to keep focused on Jason. He was the reason she was here.
The tall, handsome shifter walking up to the stage must be the leader of that clan. From the looks of it, he was definitely royal, and he didn’t seem to appreciate the prodding by the older woman. She looked to be wealthy, as well, was it possible she was also a royal? It was hard to tell as most of the shifters wore regular human clothing. The woman looked like a well-dressed lady on her way to a country club lunch, or Tiffany’s. She was svelte in a pink business suit and well-made high heels. She sported a small fur-lined cape, even though it wasn’t quite cold enough. Her long blonde hair pulled up into a fancy French twist.
She must be a real bitch, Susie thought. She radiated an insecure confidence. She seemed to be a woman without a firm grasp on her life.
In contrast, Lord Ashlu was wearing a well fitted tailored grey suit with a red pocket square and matching tie. With his dark brown hair, which was longer than she would think for someone called a ‘Lord’, and deep-set chestnut eyes, Susie thought she understood why some humans might want to stay in Undervale. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He had broad shoulders and a strong nose. He was every bit as regal as a knight in a fairytale, but dressed like he was going to take over Wall St. His confidence was real, and Susie bet everyone who came in contact with him knew it.
Ashlu, that’s the pack who likes humans, Susie thought. She had to somehow get him to purchase her. She knew her microphone stunt was dangerous, and honestly, she was shocked the shifter auctioneer didn’t strike her, but she was at a loss as to how else to get her story heard. She saw the opportunity and she took it. Vowing to herself that if she got out of this alive and had an opportunity she would give that auctioneer a real piece of her mind.
She watched as Lord Ashlu slowly walked around each of them standing on the block stage, starting with the man at the end. He seemed to take his time, a sure and pensive look on his face. Occasionally smiling and stretching his arms out for the crowd, acting like he loved the attention when they cheered for him. Though Susie noted it seemed to all be for show. He was not enjoying this charade any more than she was.
“He’s a good lookin’ one ya?” Donna nudged her and whispered. “I’m tellin’ ya, I wouldn’t kick him outta bed,” she continued on. Susie just wishing she would shut up.
Susie shrugged, hoping her indifference would be enough to shut Donna down. She didn’t want to be associated with this woman who seemed to be so obvious about taking pleasure in this shit show.
Lord Ashlu came to Donna and he didn’t spare her a second glance. He walked around her as he did the others, but there was no showmanship. No engagement with the crowd. He must recognize she is insane, Susie thought. That’s good.
She was next in the line-up. She straightened her back and fixed her gaze above the square, the buildings and into the horizon. He wouldn’t see the same weakness in her that he saw in Donna. She needed him to want to bid on her. Yet somehow she knew eagerness would get her nowhere. She opted instead to show her true feelings. A steel reserve with a touch of healthy fear.
He walked behind her slowly. When he was between her and the auctioneer he leaned down just slightly.
“Do I know you?” he whispered. His mellow baritone and sweet breath causing warmth to spread through Susie’s center. If Susie hadn’t been at such rigid attention she would have thought she was hearing things. He was addressing her, careful to avoid attention, but addressing her just the same.
“I don’t see how, my lord,” she whispered back through clenched teeth.
“So familiar,” he said, slowly running his finger down her cheek.
She instinctively closed her eyes, trying to keep her breathing even. His touch was different than Tylan’s. He wasn’t threatening her, it was more like an inquisitive admiration. It made her shiver, even under the best of circumstances she had not reacted to a touch like that, in… well, years. To have a reaction to another shifter, and now as she was about to be sold as a slave? Something was definitely wrong with her. She felt the blush as it crept up her face. Then as quickly as it happened he was gone, standing at the microphone stand, smiling and nodding with the auctioneer.
“I declare this a good, well standing group. Let the auction begin,” he shouted jumping down from the stage and back into the audience, and the crowd roared.
Oh my god, Susie thought, chasing away a shiver. Here we go.
Chapter 8
Why did he touch her? That was a bold move. The way she stood in defiance of his inspection made something stir in him. He didn’t think anyone heard them speak to one another. Not even the woman who was clearly desperate to become a shifter. He just couldn’t shake the idea that he knew t
he human from somewhere. He had scented her fear, but she had not shown it, he admired her reserve.
Jumping back into the crowd, he had made his decision. Whoever this woman was, he would bid on her, win her, and help her. He would not touch her again, at least not without her wanting him to.
“You heard the wolf! Let’s begin,” the auctioneer said.
Aelnoth had no interest in the first four humans and used the time the auctioneer took to sell them off, to size up the crowd and his competition. He watched Tylan and Lady Alard, they were deep in conversation, and Tylan looked up eagerly at the short brunette on the stage then dropped right back into a heated conversation with his mother. As Aelnoth suspected, they were interested in the woman he wanted.
He had promised his mother he would mind himself and not cause trouble at the auction block. It was beginning to look like he would not be keeping his promise. They had already purchased the eager older human woman, most definitely to put her to work as a house made. They certainly didn’t need any more help. No good could come of Tylan getting his hands on the brunette. Aelnoth would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening.
“Ladies and gentleman, now for the last of our offerings today. Lot 30-05, Young, female, athletic, obviously in her prime. Perfect for genetic diversity. We have already seen this human’s spirit, nothing a muzzle couldn’t control. And I imagine she will be even more spirited in the breeding room…” The auctioneer gave the crowd a wiggle of his eyebrows and did a small jig on the stage, sending a ripple of laughter through the crowd. “Can we start the bidding at one thousand?”
“One-thousand,” Lady Cartori Alard shouted.
Shit, Aelnoth thought. She’s not wasting any time.
One-thousand was a pittance. It was insulting even in the context of this horrendous tradition. The woman was obviously worth a thousand times that.
“Fifteen hundred,” came a shout from somewhere else in the audience. Aelnoth saw Tylan grab his mother’s hand and offer her a pleading look. Pathetic.
“Five thousand,” Lady Alard countered, showing the crowd she meant business. Typically that would be enough to show any other bidder to back down. Aelnoth readied himself for the coming fight.
“Six thousand!” he shouted, catching Catori’s eye. She was barely able to disguise her surprise, but as a true lady, she didn’t allow any other emotion show through.
Wrapping her fur stole tighter around her shoulders, she raised her jewelled hand, “Eight thousand.”
“Ten,” Aelnoth countered, as a murmur of interest shook the crowd.
“I have ten thousand from Lord Aelnoth, does my Lady Alard wish to go higher?” the auctioneer asked, barely able to contain his excitement.
“My word,” Lady Alard said, looking at her nails, pretending to be bored by the process. “I guess I will go to eleven thousand.”
Aelnoth shook his head in disbelief, looking between Alard and the and her son. How could noble shifters be so callous with any living being? Turning his gaze to the stage, he noticed the human too, was staring at him with her familiar ice-blue eyes. Was he imagining it or did he see pleading behind her brave façade? Something stirred in Aelnoth. It was time to end this.
“Twenty thousand dollars!” he declared.
The crowd let out a collective gasp, and Tylan grew visibly angry. Aelnoth was sure he was going to shift and lunge at him. It would be a foolish mistake, Aelnoth bested Tylan in both status and strength. There were often skirmishes at the auction block, but rarely between nobles. Not that Tylan was a full noble, but protocol would still be adhered to. It would be a scandal. Lady Alard knew that, and she was too power hungry to allow it of her son. Tylan bared his teeth, and Aelnoth saw Lady Alard place a firm hand on his arm.
“Twenty-thousand, going once…” the auctioneer began, looking expectantly at the Alards. “Twice…”
Aelnoth instinctively held his breath. Waiting to see what Catori Alard would do. She looked up at the auctioneer and gave a slight shake of her head, bowing out.
“Three times. Sold! Lot 30-05 sold to Lord Aelnoth Ashlu. Be good to your new pet, my lord, she will surely be good to you!”
The crowd roared its approval. Lady Alard and Tylan pushed their way through towards Aelnoth. He braced himself just in case Catori did not have as firm a hold on her son’s temper as it appeared. As they brushed by, she nodded solemnly.
Tylan turned around and whispered in Aelnoth’s ear. “Make no doubt, you’ll regret this, my lord. She was mine.”
“It appears not, Tylan. If you’re as wise as your mother thinks you are you’ll stay away from her. She is Ashlu now,” Aelnoth replied.
***
Aelnoth quickly returned to the Ashlu den. His business completed, he did not want to spend any more time in Trondaga as necessary. It was bad enough the king asked him and his mother to come to court twice a year. He enjoyed walking the gardens that surrounded the shore leading up to the den. He noticed Matthew working in the private vegetable garden that supplied the kitchens of the den, it appeared he was pulling potatoes.
“Matthew, I need you to go to the blocks, and pick up the new member of our household,” Aelnoth said.
“Sure thing, boss,” Matthew replied, looking up at his friend with curiosity. “But…”
“But nothing, she was purchased as a breeder. My mother will be pleased. Go get her, bring her back. Let her know the rules of the den.”
“You got it. Do you want her put in your rooms?” he replied, with what Aelnoth was certain was a snicker.
“Put her up in one of the guest rooms. Also, I had trouble with Tylan Alard and his ambitious mother at the auction, so, for now, let her know she is free to go wherever she wants within the den and the gardens, but nowhere else,” Aelnoth replied. “And give her an ankle bracelet, so I can monitor where she goes.”
“Why don’t you tell her, and what kind of trouble?” Matthew inquired.
“We can at least try and keep up the pretense that you’re a servant can’t we? Sometimes? Don’t question me. Just tell the woman not to leave the grounds, if you have to make me out to be some kind of monster to keep her from putting up a fight then do it. It’s the kind of trouble that makes Mother worry.”
Matthew looked at Aelnoth as if he’d grown two heads. He didn’t want to admit to the human that the woman made him feel something, something strange. A protective need to keep her from Catori and Tylan. And while he knew he should pick her up from the auction house himself, it would be better for all of them that he send a servant.
“Okay, okay, I’ll bring her here. What’s her name?” Matthew asked.
“I don’t know, you’ll have to find out, she is numbered right now, lot 30-05,” Aelnoth replied, walking towards the den. He was done with questions for the day. When he was sure he could trust himself around the woman, he would learn what she needed, and get it for her. Then he would get her out of Undervale. For good.
Chapter 9
“You were bought by that handsome lord, you lucky bitch,” Donna said, with a sarcastic smile, as they were led back to the holding cell.
“I thought once we were sold, we could leave with the shifters who bought us?” Susie asked, panicked, she could not believe they were being taken back to the cold under storage jail, where she was brought earlier.
“Not right away, there is paperwork and such. No worries, princess, your prince charming will come for you,” Donna said, laughing as she entered the cell.
What about me makes everyone here call me princess, she thought as she settled into a sitting position on the floor of the cell. Lord Ashlu won the bidding war, but she knew he was no prince charming. Then again, why did she respond to him when he touched her?
She had recognized Tylan standing with the fancy woman shifter, and assumed they were related somehow. She was still angry about the whole idea of being auctioned off as a sex slave. This place was so backwards. Still, she was grateful that it was Lord Ashlu, whose pa
ck the girl Alaina said was tolerant of humans, had kept fighting to win her. The last thing she needed was to end up with the sadistic shifter who captured her. She shivered at the thought.
Leaning her head against the wall, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes. She needed a plan. Yeah right, a plan, she couldn’t even control moment to moment in this place, how the hell could she come up with a plan? She wished she were able to call home, talk to Jason. Talk to her Nana or Kim. She should have let Kim come, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten caught so quickly with two of them. Then again, maybe they would have both been caught and sold off like chattel. No, no, this was for the best. She would buddy up to these Ashlu shifters, get whatever information she could find on Jason’s father and that tattoo, then she would escape.
“LOT 30-05, LOT 30-05 Please prepare for delivery,” a disembodied voice shouted through the cell block. Susie recognized her number and stood. A shifter guard approached the cell. He was holding her backpack. She wondered how he had gotten that, she had left it in the car. Did Tylan bring it to this place?
Unlocking the door, he looked at her. “30-05?” he asked.
“Yes, and my name is Suzanne Masters, Susie,” she replied.
He laughed. “Your name will be whatever your purchaser wishes to call you, human. At least until you produce a pup and get sent back to where you came from.”
One Night One Secret Page 4
